Social media – Do’s and don’ts when job hunting!

As social media is at the forefront of daily life, it’s no surprise that companies check out their prospective new hires on these sites before they hire them; some even do so before conducting interviews.

To make sure that their first impression of you is a positive one check out our guidelines for the top 3 social media platforms used in Ireland.

1. Facebook

The best way to avoid any hiccups here when employers are searching for you on Facebook is to make your page private. You can do this by going into the settings tab on the top right corner of your Facebook News Feed page and clicking into ‘Privacy’.

2. LinkedIn

This is your professional profile so keep everything professional. By all means post inspiring or funny quotes and articles on relevant topics, but stay away from controversial topics.

Your photo should be a professional one; just you. Don’t put up a photo of you and friends or family. Don’t have a photo of you out on the town with a cocktail in hand or sunning yourself on holidays. Just get someone to take a photo of you with a plain white wall in the background and upload it, simple, easy, effective!

3. Twitter

Below are some things to steer clear of when tweeting:

Your current job

No matter what you say about your current job, it can be taken negatively. If you tweet about how much you love your job, they hiring manager will question your commitment to a new job. If you complain about your current job, this leads to the hiring manager questioning what you’ll be saying about his / her company in the future.

Your job search

Your current employer won’t be too happy finding out you are looking around and hiring managers won’t be happy if you tweet about their recruitment process; even if it is positive.

Negativity

If your employer is checking you out on Twitter, part of this will be to get an idea of your personality and how you’ll fit in with the team. If you come across overly negative in your tweets, this could lead hiring managers to question if you’ll be a good ’cultural fit’ for the company.

Your social life

Everyone tweets about parties or nights out, but avoid doing it so much when you’re on the job hunt. It could lead to prospective employers forming the opinion that you would be more interested in socialising than working.